According to Ahram, Nasr City is considered a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has suffered a crackdown at the hands of the government in recent months after the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.

As interior minister, Ibrahim was directly implicated in in the crackdown, with hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood killed by the police force he commands. It is believed that about 100 members of the security forces have also been killed in sporadic violence.

On Wednesday Ibrahim removed the head of Egypt's prison authority after word that he had allowed meetings between detained Islamists. The move was a part of a wider reshuffle of Egypt's security and investigative leaders in southern Egypt.

Unrest in the governate of Minya has seen churches and government buildings attacked.

Violence also continues in Egypt's Sinai peninsula as Islamist-linked militants have skirmished with authorities.

The military claims that it has killed 20 gunmen and destroyed most of the supply tunnels linking Egypt to Gaza.